1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to communications systems and in particular to billing rate features utilized in conjunction with communications systems. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to providing real-time display of billing charges to a subscriber for calls in progress.
2. Description of the Related Art
The explosion of telecommunications in contemporary society has been accompanied by service providers competing for subscribers by offering a variety of service plans and features with disparate billing rates. The variability of costs for service relating to a particular call has thus become difficult if not impossible for users to monitor. For example, billing rates have conventionally varied depending on factors such as, for example, the time at which a call is placed and the geographic location of the calling party and/or of the called party. More recently, additional factors impacting billing rates have derived from currently activated special features such as call waiting, and from discounts currently in effect for a particular customer.
The advent of variable service plans have further complicated determination of billing rates for particular calls. Different customers may have different rates based on the particular plan subscribed to by the customer. For example, landline service plans are available for flat-rate billing for all calls within most large metropolitan areas having multiple area codes, while wireless service plans offer flat rate billing for particular areas or waiving of roaming charges within certain states. Depending on the long distance or cellular service selected by the customer and the particular plan chosen, different customers may have different rates even though they initiate calls at the same time of the day to and from the same geographic locations.
For budgeting or cost billing purposes, many subscribers--particularly businesses which pass on their costs to customers or clients--desire to know the costs associated with a particular call while the call is being made. Generally, subscribers are required to wait for the monthly statement to learn the billing information associated with a particular call. At best, special arrangements might be made for the customer to learn the billing information when the call is completed. However, a customer wish to limit costs to a prescribed amount has no real-time indication of billing information.
It would be desirable, therefore, to provide subscribers with a display of real-time billing charges for a call in progress. It would further be advantageous if the display of real-time charges could be flexibly implemented to accommodate a subscriber's particular communications hardware.